Zoll Z Vent breathes life into Botetourt

July 30, 2019

The new ventilator will soon make the rounds with the Botetourt County EMS.

Photo by Matt de Simone

By Matt de Simone

Contributing writer

The Botetourt County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) recently
invested in a device that could literally add a much-needed breath of fresh air
to those in need. The area’s first automated ventilator will soon be available
for local responders to utilize with patient care.

EMS Battalion Chief Camille Black explained that the days of
attaching a bag valve mask are over if there’s a Zoll Z Vent ventilator nearby.
She further explained, “If someone has had a traumatic incident or they’ve had
a significant medical issue that’s affected the ability to breath effectively,
we’ll put a tube in their trachea and typically use the bag valve squeezing it
by hand to ventilate the patient. The [Z Vent ventilator] is a lot better for
them because it has preset settings you can change to better the patient’s
needs.”

Zoll designed the Z Vent ventilator to be simple to operate.
The lightweight design makes the energy-efficient ventilator extremely mobile
for EMTs. The Z Vent can be used for all types of EMS transport vehicles. Due
to the fact that EMTs face hazardous situations, the Z Vent is built to
military specs making this ventilator extremely durable. Zoll designed the Z
Vent’s compressor to help save oxygen— conserving oxygen and energy in transit.

“It was really difficult to find [a ventilator] that suited
a 911 system,” Black said, “There’s a lot of options out there. We used [Zoll’s]
products in the past and we knew their quality was great so we decided to go
that route.”

The ventilator will ride along with the EMS supervisor
across the county once testing and training with the Z Vent concludes.